I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

After clarifying things with Kakashi, Obito felt a sense of relief. He bid farewell to Kakashi and left the training division.

But as he stepped out, looking at the sparse trees and the bright blue sky on this clear day, Obito suddenly felt lost. The weather was great, with no clouds and the sun shining brightly, but Konoha seemed distant from him. He felt like an outsider, out of place in this thriving village.

He had no home here; his grandmother had long passed away, leaving him without any family in Konoha. Obito felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness and emptiness.

Seeing Obito standing still in a daze, Nagasawa asked, ”What’s wrong? Why are you spacing out all of a sudden?”

”It’s nothing. I just realized I don’t have anywhere to go,” Obito replied with a hint of melancholy.

At this moment, he was indeed homeless. If Kakashi hadn’t been married, he might have stayed with him, but Kakashi had a family now, and Obito felt it would be inappropriate to impose it.

”Don’t be ridiculous. Your house in the Uchiha district shouldn’t have been repurposed that quickly,” Nagasawa teased. Konoha always had more space than people, so there was no shortage of land. At most, Obito’s house might be dirty from years of neglect.

”But dirt is no problem for a ninja. Just use a Shadow Clone Jutsu to make several clones, and the cleaning will be done in no time,” Nagasawa suggested.

”Are you planning to return to the Uchiha district?” Nagasawa asked.

”If my past deeds come to light, it might cause problems for the Uchiha clan,” Obito said, concerned.

”That’s true,” Nagasawa admitted, stroking his chin. He worked hard to reduce the friction between Konoha and the Uchiha. If Obito’s actions were exposed, it could increase hostility towards the Uchiha and undo Nagasawa’s efforts. Moreover, some ambitious Uchiha members might see Obito’s strength and get dangerous ideas. Thus, the fact that Obito was the masked man from the Nine-Tails incident should remain a secret.

”How about we claim you were severely injured during the Third Shinobi War, wandered the ninja world, and only recently returned to Konoha?” Nagasawa proposed.

”Alright,” Obito agreed, not wanting to bring more trouble to the Uchiha.

Nagasawa and Obito then headed to the Uchiha district and found Obito’s old house. It was a simple, two-story wooden house with a small yard, typical for the area. The yard had a broadleaf tree whose green leaves shimmered in the sunlight, growing well despite neglect.

The yard was filthy, littered with plastic trash blown in from who knows where, and wild grass growing chaotically.

”It’s quite a project,” Nagasawa commented, looking around. Destroying the yard would be easy, but cleaning it was different.

”You could issue a D-rank mission and have the Genin clean it,” Nagasawa suggested.

”It’s my home, so I should clean it myself. Besides, I wouldn’t want to leave a bad impression on the Genin with such a grueling task,” Obito declined, deciding to do it himself. Cleaning would also give him a chance to revisit old memories.

”Alright,” Nagasawa agreed, heading out of the yard to talk to Fugaku. Obito watched Nagasawa leave before closing the yard gate and stretching a bit. He then quickly performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Poof! Poof! Poof! White smoke erupted as multiple clones appeared in the yard.

”You clean this side, you clean that side...” Obito directed his clones, assigning them different yard areas to clean. He reserved the house interior for himself to clean.

Opening the door, he was greeted by a cloud of dust. Waving his hand to clear the air, he saw familiar dust-covered furniture. He walked across the dusty floor, not bothering to remove his shoes.

Entering the kitchen, he tried to turn on the stove, but there was no power, or it was broken. Finally, he went upstairs and opened the door to his room.

To the right, inside was a double-pane glass window, a desk, and a chair. The right side of the desk was filled with a bookshelf. Obito used to spend a lot of time here studying.

A picture frame on the desk was roughly the size of a small window pane. The frame contained a collage of photos of Rin, showing her smiling in every picture as if she knew no sadness.

Obito reached out to touch the photos but only got dust on his hand. Thanks to the frame, the pictures inside were clean. He carefully wiped the frame with an old cloth, removing all the dust from even the tiniest crevices.

With the frame clean, he placed it on the windowsill, just like before. When he felt like giving up, he put Rin’s photo there to remind himself of her encouraging words, regaining his courage and determination.

Obito sat there quietly for twenty minutes, looking at the photo. Then, taking a deep breath, he carefully put the picture away and began cleaning the house.

When Nagasawa arrived at Fugaku’s house, he saw the whole family. Fugaku was standing in the yard, talking to Itachi, while Mikoto sat on the wooden walkway surrounding the house with Sasuke, who was trying to sneak over to his brother.

Fugaku noticed Nagasawa as soon as he entered, stopping his training with Itachi, where he was teaching fire jutsu techniques. Itachi had advanced to the semifinals in the extraordinary Chunin Exams, and Fugaku wanted him to win, even taking time off to teach him directly.

”Nagasawa, are you here to see Itachi?” Fugaku asked.

Nagasawa shook his head. ”No, I came to see you about something concerning the Uchiha clan.”

Hearing this, Fugaku’s expression turned serious. ”What is it?”

”Do you remember an Uchiha named Obito?” Nagasawa asked.

”Yes, he died during the Third Shinobi War,” Fugaku replied. He remembered Obito because of his connection to Minato and reputation as a late bloomer.

”Obito was reported dead, but he survived with severe injuries and wandered the ninja world. He has recently returned to Konoha,” Nagasawa explained.

Fugaku was stunned. He never expected to hear about Obito returning to Konoha. Although he found Nagasawa’s explanation a bit dubious, he chose not to question it, as it wouldn’t affect the Uchiha negatively.

”I understand. His house has been empty for a long time. I’ll have someone clean it,” Fugaku offered.

”No need. Obito is already cleaning it himself,” Nagasawa said.

”Is there anything else?” Fugaku asked.

”No, that’s all,” Nagasawa replied.

Fugaku maintained a calm demeanour but suspected Obito’s return was more complex than it seemed.

With some free time, Nagasawa stayed at Fugaku’s house for a while, teasing Sasuke.

”You should respectfully call me Lord Nagasawa or Assistant Nagasawa,” Nagasawa teased Sasuke.

”My name is Sasuke, not little Sasuke,” Sasuke pouted, unhappy with Nagasawa’s teasing.

”Alright, little Sasuke,” Nagasawa replied, feigning seriousness.

Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration.

Itachi came over, patting Sasuke’s head and making Sasuke happy as he nuzzled his brother. ”Sasuke, you should respect Nagasawa-sensei. He’s a great ninja and my teacher.”

Hearing this, Sasuke reluctantly faced Nagasawa, trying to be respectful. ”Sorry, Assistant Nagasawa.”

Nagasawa laughed, pinching Sasuke’s cheek. ”Kids shouldn’t frown. Smile when you apologize.”

Sasuke forced a twisted smile, making Nagasawa laugh even harder.

Seeing Nagasawa laughing, Sasuke felt deeply hurt, his eyes welling up with tears as he hid behind Itachi.

”Brother, he’s bullying me,” Sasuke complained to Itachi.

Itachi looked at Nagasawa and Sasuke, pondering for a moment.

Nagasawa, having had his fun, knew to stop, leaving Fugaku’s house shortly after.